The Warrior Goddess
by NinjaxSketcheartx
Summary: While traveling to Greece the seven receive snippets of memories about a woman named Cosmos, starting with Percy who thinks she's his sister. They all find a little of themselves in her but unraveling her secrets is no walk in the park. Who exactly is she? Why is she so important? Will she become a valuable asset in the war, or a deadly nightmare walking the earth? Hiatus
1. The Familiar Stranger

**The Warrior Goddess**

**By NinjaxSketcheartx**

* * *

_Thousands of years, humanity has suffered many tragedies. The Fates have rolled up their strings and cut it to end a life but mankind continues to defy their fate. Do you save others in order to inspire, or does salvation inspire you to be better? Thousands of years, one life has slumbered deep in the earth and awaits for you. Will you choose to save her, Perseus?_

* * *

"Looks like the stars are out tonight," Annabeth said softly as Percy appeared. Her chin tilted up to the dark sky as she reveled in the diamond-like shards.

"No kidding," Percy said, stopping to stand right next to her. Annabeth slapped him lightly on the shoulder without looking away. As amazing as the stars were, they weren't what caught his attention. He stared at his girlfriend, feeling his chest rise slowly at how breathtaking she looked under the moonlight. Her honey blonde hair swayed when the wind blew, and her gray orbs twinkled, making her look desirable.

Annabeth caught him gawking, her eyes looking at him through the corner of her eyes. She couldn't help but smirk. "Can't get enough of me, Seaweed Brain?" she teased.

Percy laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His face nestling her neck. He bought his face up so that he could whisper in her ear. "Yes. Happy, Wise Girl?"

They kissed, Percy's lips causing sparks to fly at the immediate contact. Annabeth gripped the sides of his orange camp shirt, forcing their bodies to touch, their hearts beating as one. The stars above them seemed forgotten.

Annabeth pulled away, though she remained in place, just catching her breath. She looked up at Percy, her gray eyes soft.

"Your not tired?" she asked. Percy shook his head. "You should sleep."

Annabeth pulled away. Percy raised a questioning eyebrow. "What about you?"

"In a minute." She waved him off and went back to stargazing.

Percy went below deck, making sure to be as quiet as a demigod could be. Last time, he stomped down the stairs causing their so called c_aptain_ to make a fuss out of not getting enough beauty sleep. Percy chuckled at the memory. Piper had to come out of her room to make Leo stop complaining by pulling his ear.

When Percy reached his cabin quarters, he plomped right on the mattress and kicked off his shoes. So far, everything that happened today went swell aside from the fact that Percy tripped going up the stairs (_who does that?_) and almost died of embarrassment. Other than that, nothing too serious happened and he could almost say that he had a normal day.

That is, until he drifted off to sleep where he was haunted by dreams of the past…

* * *

In actuality, Percy's dream felt like he was watching an action movie.

He watched a silhouette run through a forest in the dead of night. The high trees covered a full moon, and the sky was dotted with stars. The figure jumped from tree branch to tree branch and sometimes using their hands to swing like a monkey.

Nothing seemed to be chasing after the person but whoever it was, they were running head on, nonstop. The figure dropped from the tree, onto lower grounds, rolling to soften the fall. The silent forerunner proceeded to move without stopping, easily navigating and jumping over huge rocks or fallen trees.

The figure pulled out something from a large basket on their waist—an arrow—and released it from their bow. The arrow whizzed past several trees and dove straight into a stray deer that Percy didn't see. The aim perfectly hit it right in the eye, and the animal hit the floor with a thump. Without slowing, the person knelt down and picked the deer up by its neck.

Percy felt his eyebrows rise. Even though, he was impressed, he couldn't deny that he was horrified and somewhat fearful.

When the figure reached the end of the forest, they slowed down, leaves crunching as it came to an opening. The silhouette stepped in the moonlight, showing a beautiful young woman. She had one of those faces where you've met this person before, maybe amongst a huge crowd and you immediately recognized them but you just can't put your finger on it. That's how Percy felt.

She was beautiful and, like Calypso, she didn't need to wear makeup. Her dark brown hair reached her waist and it couldn't decide whether to be wavy or straight. Percy almost mistakened her for a Hunter of Artemis except she was dressed rather differently. She wore a white sleeveless toga where one side sashayed down to her ankles while her other leg was exposed. Her bronze metal belt was hooked with a quiver of arrows. She wore open toed brown boots that matched with her armguard. Her bracelet was the same design as her belt, and in her hand she carried a wooden bow colored with red, green, blue, yellow stripes and a black symbol that looked like an army insignia.

But her eyes… her eyes was what really captivated him. They were an intense shade of blue mixed with green like how the color of the ocean would be when the temperature would be hot. What was that color called? Percy thought, racking his brain. Aquamarine?

One thing's for sure, Percy knew she was a demigod. Or something of the sort.

The woman's eyebrows scrunched and her eyes focused on something that stretched in front of her. She visibly relaxed when she spotted a tiny village. The place had dozens of huts and a campfire rose to the sky. People sat on logs around the fire, singing, and feasting, and entertaining one another. Children ran around, chasing each other and holding up sticks like it was a sword.

A middle-aged man with a thining beard and a wise looking face spotted her, and stood up to greet her. He wore ratty brown clothes, the sleeves and the bottom of his cloak was torn and shriveled.

"My dear, did you get good game?" He asked.

The woman gave a kind smile. "Yes, father." She held up the deer and reached behind her to reveal two foxes, three raccoons, and five beavers all (except the deer) tied around their neck by a thick rope.

Percy's jaw dropped. How could she even carry all that?

The old man smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing. "Very good. Ah, but the fur of this fox is damaged," the old man examined the gaping hole in the fox's side. Just seeing that made Percy's stomach churn.

"We must take care of that," the man said, turning around. "I'll also need you to help me skin these."

When they reached one of the huts to drop off their game, the woman said, "Go on ahead, father. I must rest."

Percy saw the man frown, his head tilting to one side. "Is something wrong, my dear?" The woman didn't say anything, her eyes on the ground. "What ails you, Cosmos?"

Cosmos looked over her shoulder, back to the forest and sighed before meeting her father's gaze. She was still taking deep breaths when she said, "I encountered the mighty Zeus, father."

Her father looked like he was anticipating this, and nodded. "Tell me what happened, my dear."

Cosmos hand was still wrapped around the deer's neck, and she tightened her hold on it.

Poor deer, Percy thought.

Cosmos shook her head. "I was simply hunting and I found him fighting with someone else. I believe his adversary was his brother, the earthshaker."

Percy felt his eyebrows go up. Looks like some things just never change.

Her father's eyes had widened, and he gulped. "I see. I don't suppose you know why?"

She shook her head. "I fled a few minutes after their battle. What could this mean?"

Her father smiled, as if he was sharing a joke. "Come, let us walk while the night is still young. I have much to tell you, my dear."

They went to a man and informed him of the dead animals and to skin them. When they neared the campfire, the people welcomed and bowed respectfully at the huntress. Cosmos nodded and smiled, then followed her father.

Percy tried to find out where he was. It couldn't be Camp Half-Blood, that was for sure but judging how these people acted, it was probably around the ancient Greece times. So, it obviously meant that he was somewhere in Greece before the gods went west.

"Cosmos," her father said. Percy followed them, standing by the huntress side. "Do not take this the wrong way, but I am not your father."

Cosmos looked at her _"father"_ as if he just slapped her. Not that Percy noticed it, she was a head taller than her dad which seemed sort of unnatural.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Of course you are my father!"

"I wasn't finished explaining, my dear." The old man said patiently. She waited, but her jaw clenched. "In many ways, I am and am not your father. At least, I'm not your biological father."

Cosmos bit her lip, and studied her father warily. "What about mother?" The old man nodded gravely. Percy could practically feel the rage boiling up inside her.

Cosmos looked sad, angry, hurt, and confused all at the same time. She didn't say anything as they continued to walk until they reached a cliff. The full moon glowered over them, casting a shadow over Cosmos face. Percy could see the gears rolling in her head.

Percy could relate. Back when he was twelve, he was so frustrated whenever he thought about his dad. He cursed and blamed him for everything; abandoning the family, never being there when they needed him, never being the father Percy always wanted.

Cosmos seemed to take this calmly but she didn't take it lightly either. "I- I must meditate on this… father."

Her dad regarded her, looking right at her as if he could access her thoughts. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Your parents didn't abandon you, if that's what you are thinking."

Her expression darkened, as she glared daggers in his direction. "Then what are you saying? I fell out of the sky?"

Percy would have laughed because if she did fall out of the sky, then she'd make good friends with Hephaestus. However, it would make him look like one of the school bullies he tried so hard not to become. That, and Cosmos looked like someone you didn't want as an enemy. Even if she couldn't sense his presence, he wouldn't scoff at her.

"What I'm saying," Her father said gently, "is that one of your parents is a-"

"God?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "But father, you said I wasn't your biological daughter, as well as for mother. Then does that mean..."

"That both your parents are gods?" He offered. The old man looked at the moon, a faraway look in his eyes. "Sadly I don't have the answer to that, my dear. But considering what you saw back there, its possible that your father is either Zeus or Poseidon."

Percy frowned. He tried to think of a heroine named Cosmos but nothing came to mind. He was in the dark just like her.

Then a sick feeling hit him. What if she was a villainess? Another enemy was just what he needed. It's bad enough that he's involved in the Second Great Prophecy. And now it's possible that he has to face this chick in the near future.

However, something about Cosmos said otherwise. She definitely looked familiar. Aside from her fierce hunting skills, Percy could see the warm and maternal side hidden underneath. There was a sort of quiet leadership about her hinted with sadness. It showed when the villagers humbly greeted her as she proudly smiled back.

She was a leader. Just like how Percy was at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

Cosmos hung her head. She settled to sit on a rock, her bow across her lap. "So what now?"

Her father smiled. He walked up to her, knelt down and took both her hands. "That is up to you, my dear. Your choices, your path; it's all up for you to decide."

Cosmos didn't meet her father's eyes. She sighed, and nodded miserably. "I will need to rest, father."

Her dad gave her hand a soft squeeze. "Very well. Go and rest, my dear."

Percy knew the old man had wanted to say more but something held him back. Her father gave Cosmos a kiss on her forehead though it was covered by her black headgear. She approached one of the huts, moving the curtain beads aside. Once she was inside, she dropped on one of the straw made beds. She didn't bother taking off any of her gear or clothing.

Her eyes closed, and she was already asleep, snoring softly. What Percy failed to notice was the woman cloaked in white robes, standing in the entrance of the hut.

The woman grabbed Cosmos by her arm and together they disappeared.

* * *

In the Iris message, Chiron sat in his wheelchair, stroking his beard thoughtfully as he listened to Percy explain his dream. After Percy was done, all Chiron did for a full minute was rub his beard like it was the most fascinating thing to do.

Percy fiddled with the drachma in his pocket. If the image dissolved, he wasn't planning to waste his last drachma. He had a feeling he was gonna need it for later.

Everyone was asleep in their rooms except Annabeth, Frank, and himself who settled to stay in the pilot room. Percy wasn't really assured that the ship would run smoothly if the Argo II was on autopilot but Leo insisted. He was the only one who could fly the ship but Percy didn't think an automated Nintendo Wii was capable of keeping them aloft.

Standing next to him was Annabeth who looked worn out. Her eyebrows pressed down on her gray eyes as she kept a straight face. Her blonde hair was out of her usual ponytail, flowing freely behind her in soft waves. She wore the orange camp shirt and denim shorts with a pair of sneakers, her knife right by her side. She fiddled with her bead necklace like she always did when she was nervous.

Gods, she looked beautiful.

"What do you make of this, Chiron?" Annabeth finally asked.

The centaur stopped stroking his beard and sighed. "I have heard of Cosmos. Perhaps once or twice but I'm not familiar with her background. Have you asked one of the Romans?"

For some reason, Percy had a suspicion that Chiron was lying. _Maybe it's something he had to swear on the Styx,_ Percy thought. That was understandable but it didn't make things easier.

Frank shook his head. "I've only been in camp for, uh, two months but I've never heard of someone named Cosmos. And if Percy said she could hunt animals perfectly, then I should have heard of her before," he said, stumbling to chose the right words. He hastily added, "Which I haven't."

"Maybe Hazel or Hason know something." Annabeth said helpfully.

Percy pursed his lips. He didn't know what to think. He had a dream about his sister, or his cousin if she was a daughter of Zeus. His gut feeling told him that Cosmos dad was Poseidon, otherwise why would Percy experience the dream?

"I do know one thing." Chiron said. Percy's head snapped up. "Long ago, I had visited Athens. While I was there, there was a statue that was being built right in the center of the city. I do not recall asking why it was being built. However, there was a plaque but I could only read Cosmos. At the time, I could not understand Latin so…" his voice trailed off.

"We could take a look at it," Frank offered.

Chiron nodded. "I know an assoicate who may have some knowledge about Cosmos. I'll contact him to tell you about her if you choose to go." He paused, and briefly glanced at Percy. "I think I'll even have a... _friend_ escort you to the statue if you'd like."

Both Percy and Frank frowned when he said friend. It made Percy's stomach twist into knots.

Annabeth nodded. "Thanks, Chiron." The image dissolved after that leaving the three demigods in silence. Frank glanced at Percy, then Annabeth and left the room.

Annabeth looked at Percy, obviously worried. Now that he was back, she was scared that he would disappear again. She followed him everywhere, sharing the same room, sitting next to him, always being by his side except in the bathroom. "You okay?"

"Yes," Percy cocked his head. "Why?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "Cosmos... You want to know more about her?" She guessed.

Percy shrugged. "Well, yeah. Don't you?"

She huffed. "Of course, I do. What's there not to know?"

Percy smirked. "All right, Wise Girl, take it easy."

Annabeth chuckled. "You know, I find it funny that Cosmos is good at archery and your not."

"Ha ha."

Annabeth couldn't supress a smile. Before she could say anything, someone interrupted them.

"Jeez, you people need to sleep." From the stairs, Leo stumbled down the stairs rubbing his eyes. He was still in his boxer shorts and a white tank top. His curly black hair looked like Zeus electrocuted him but Leo didn't seem to notice, or care.

Leo blinked at them then at the sun that was beginning to rise. He covered his eyes with his hand and yawned when he reached the pilot's seat which consisted of a keyboard monitor, aviation controls, a dubstep soundboard, and Wii remotes plus a sensor.

To Percy, it looked like something an army would use in the future if they ever worked with the creators of the Nintendo Wii.

Being a son of the sea, Percy knew where they were right on the map. They had just passed Italy overnight and were now heading for Greece.

Leo glanced at Percy. "Didn't you say you were going to sleep?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "I did. I woke up because I had a dream."

"Do all demigods get dreams?" Leo asked, directing the question towards Annabeth as he held up the Wii remote.

"Occasionally."

"Anyway," Percy said, "we're changing course. We need to set sail for Athens."

"What?" Annabeth's eyes widened, whether it was from delight or shock, Percy couldn't tell.

* * *

Before Calypso had even appeared, Percy was already having a bad day. Never before had he been interrupted when he was in the middle of a dream. He rolled in his bed, mumbling incoherently until he fell on the floor. Then, the water in his shower went off when he was just beginning to relax. Being a son of Poseidon, he tried to get the water out of the faucet but it ended up exploding right in his face. Many of the campers were upset when they found out they were one shower short. And next, the Stoll brothers _forgot_ to throw out the expired milk. When Percy went to throw his cereal away, he ended up taking an unexpected fall because Clarisse mopped the floor and she _forgot_ to put up a wet floor sign.

He avoided everybody else by coming up to the deck to get some fresh air. He leaned against the mast, closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Sometime after he took a nap, and woke up when Mrs. O'Leary came bounding up to him.

His hellhound waged her tail furiously, causing the deck of their ship to tremble. The small earthquake rattled most of the campers and even a handful fell on their butts. Almost everyone cast annoyed glances at the dog before they continued with what they were doing.

Being a little shaken himself, Percy smiled and patted the hellhound's head affectionately. His smile was forced, though. Another dream of Cosmos presented itself when he was nodding off just a few minutes ago.

The white robbed woman that kidnapped Cosmos revealed herself as Percy's least favorite goddess. Hera scowled when she waved her hand to show a headshot of Cosmos. Percy almost didn't recognize her without her headgear. The huntress looked like she was getting a mugshot. What really caught his attention was that her right eye was entirely white. Her pupil was mixed with the sclera, but her eye wasn't scarred, so how did she obtain it?

Hera took one look at her and smirked, obviously pleased with herself. Percy's blood boiled, his anger beginning to take off like a rocket. What did Cosmos do to deserve this sort of treatment? And what provoked Hera to do this? It was obviously her doing that Cosmos was half blind.

"The Greeks and Romans have yet to come to equal terms, wouldn't you agree?" Hera inquired, raising an eyebrow at him.

Percy was bought back to the Senate House. He sat next to Reyna on the praetor seat, looking at the audience. One side was Greek and the other was Roman. Arguing was tossed back and forth and the meeting had to be delayed three times until everyone could come to an agreement. A possible bloodshed would have happened if it weren't for Jason with the help of Piper's charmspeak. Percy blamed Octavian, sending him death glares almost all the time for him and his big, and adroit, mouth.

Then there was the issue of the ownership of the praetor. Now that Jason was back, he couldn't simply get it back because Percy took his position. Some of the Romans were even a bit wary of Jason like he was one of the Greeks. The same went for Percy. The purple robe he wore didn't help him in the fact that he was still a Greek.

Between it all, Percy had a hard time deciding who to side with. He could now say that he fully understood the responsibilities of a praetor. It was bad enough that he had to keep stubborn Romans to agree but now he had to deal with two stubborn races which weren't so fond of one another. Between having to keep everyone satisfied, it was truly difficult and it was something he was glad to get over with.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." Hera said, pragmatically. "Abraham Lincoln was such an influential man. One of the best children of Athena," she nodded in approval, smiling to herself. "It's a shame he was assassinated."

"You're getting off topic." Percy muttered.

The goddess narrowed her eyes. After a moment, she said, "My judgement was slightly wrong, Perseus. The two leaders alone cannot bring prosperity after all. And I hate to admit it, but you'll need the help of this wicked girl to bring peace between the two races."

He woke up to find themselves already at Athens or, more specifically, they were on the shores of Sounion. The hill was covered in thick grass and several rocks. No path lead up to the top.

From what Annabeth said, they were near the Temple of Poseidon so that was something to look forward to, right? He was sure Annabeth would want to do a lot more than looking at Cosmos statue. She'd drag all of them to every temple that Athens had to offer.

For a frightening second, Percy thought there was gonna be an awkward scene with Annabeth because they were in the very city that their godly parents fought for. She didn't seem to mind, and neither did Percy. But this was, in fact, her quest. So he felt guilty for changing course even if she agreed. Yes, they dis have time but still.

Stuck in his thoughts, Percy wasn't even surprised to find Tyson by his side.

"Something bothering you, brother?" he asked, his big brown eye filled with concern.

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about." Percy assured, feigning a smile. He didn't feel fine at all. Yesterday, after his dream, he found that he wasn't even acting like himself. Something that the others quickly took note of.

It had to do with Cosmos. He felt anxious whenever he thought about her and he wanted to know her even more. Percy always hated on not knowing, especially after he just regained his lost memories. Jason and Hazel didn't know anything about a demigod named Cosmos, so who exactly was she?

"Pretty," Tyson said, sounding dazed. "She's very, very, very pretty."

Percy grinned and joked, "Who? Ella?"

Tyson wasn't even looking at him. Percy turned around and his eyes widened.

Sure enough, she was taking her sweet time walking on the bridge that connected to the ship. Her caramel hair was in a braid, draped over her delicate shoulder. She wore a spaghetti strapped white dress reaching down to her ankles with wedge sandals.

Leo, who was standing nearest to her, had his jaw plummeted to the floor. She looked at him, and smiled sweetly which made Leo sigh dramatically and practically swoon when she passed him. When she reached the deck of the Argo, Percy was glad that Annabeth was still below.

His heart did a little tap dance as she headed straight for him, a warm smile plastered on her face. Every other spectator watched with curiosity.

When she was two steps in front of him, she didn't meet his eyes until she could muster enough courage to say, "Hello, my brave one. It looks as though I was wrong. We do meet again."

Percy felt his cheeks burn. "H-hi Calypso."

Calypso tilted her head. She wasn't aware of everyone else staring at her. Her bright smile turned into an expression of hurt and confusion. A knot the size of a baseball formed in Percy's stomach. "You're not happy to see me?"

"No! I mean, it's not that. I- I'm just surprised to see you here."

Calypso looked thoughtful for a second, and then nodded. "Well, because of you I am here." Her gaze dropped to the floor. "The world is so different from what I imagined."

"Uh, in a good way or a bad way?"

She looked up and her smile returned. "Both."

Percy nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he was grateful to see Hazel and Frank come towards them.

"Hi, there," Frank said calmly, though his eyes looked from Calypso to Percy uncertainly. "Percy, um, who's this?"

Percy's voice wavered as he spoke, "This is Calypso. Calypso, meet Frank, a son of Mars. And this is Hazel, a daughter of Pluto."

The two demigods nodded, and smiled politely. He could tell they were familiar with Calypso's background by the looks on their faces. They were careful enough not to stare at her in a way that made Calypso uncomfortable but she must have been used to it because she didn't seem to notice.

"So, what brings you here?" Hazel asked.

"Well, Chiron contacted me and asked if I could guide you to Cosmos statue," she explained.

Percy's eyes widened. "W-wait, your our escort?"

Calypso nodded and studied Percy with her hand under her chin. She looked him over, starting from his head to his feet. "You have changed since I have last seen you. Is everything alright?"

"It's great!" Percy said, trying to sound more like himself. "I planted that flower in Manhattan."

Her eyes widened in delight. "That's wonderful!" Calypso then cleared her throat. "Well, I went to this Manhattan on... February, I believe. But there were these white things falling out of the sky while I was there. What are they?"

Hazel and Frank looked at her, dumbstruck.

That's right, Percy thought. She's not used to the time and weather in the real world.

"Their called snow." Percy explained. "And it only happens when it's winter, which is the cold season." Calypso nodded.

Percy was a bit uncomfortable with the proximity between Calypso and himself. He shifted on foot as she said, "Hmm, aside from being your escort, I wanted to say thank you. Because of you, I no longer have to waste my days on Ogygia. I am free from my island thanks to you, my brave one."

Calypso put her hand on Percy's shoulder and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. He could hear something - or someone - fall overboard and straight into the water.

Annabeth chose that moment to appear. She carried a backpack while Piper and Jason followed her from down the stairs. Percy didn't even look at his girlfriend as he silently prayed, and cursed, at Aphrodite.


	2. Forgotten Existence

_Chapter IV: Forgotten Existence_

Walking up the hill wasn't arduous but judging by the looks of some of the campers, they thought differently. Jason was sure that the tension in the air was the problem that everyone should be worrying about. But because of the scorching temperature, he was sweating like a pig himself.

Every second of silence that rolled by became excruciatingly incessant. Leo was toO busy making goo–goo eyes at their escort to even say anything. The group was too exhausted from their walk to even strike up a conversation. From time to time, Clarisse would push everyone to move faster with her words of encouragement though her face was red and she was sweating bullets. The Romans (Hazel, Frank, Dakota, Bobby and a handful of others who Jason didn't know) looked like they were having a telepathic conversation. Annabeth was fuming silently in the back, her gray eyes pointed accusingly at the back of Percy's head. The son of Poseidon looked down sheepishly, his green eyes burning with the lost stare.

Jason thought whether if it was wise for Percy not to make amends with Annabeth. Then again, Annabeth might have misunderstood. At least, Percy didn't kiss Calypso back. Jason could imagine many different ways of Annabeth reacting to that.

Sure, he found himself staring at Calypso, too though he quickly averted his eyes before Piper would notice.

Three hours of walking was quite the exercise to keep you awake in the morning. Their group passed the hill and were now close to a highway but they hid themselves deep in the trees to avoid attention. Piper was holding a map, making sure that they were heading the right way. Every time Jason would look over her shoulder, he would see that they weren't even halfway to Athens. His feet began to ache but he didn't complain.

Most of the Romans remained on the Argo, not at all pleased to be in Greece. Not only that, but someone had to protect the ship while they were away. Of course, all the Greeks were enthusiastic of visiting their homeland and no one argued on why they shouldn't.

After an hour of more strenuous walking, Piper glanced at Calypso. "So, how'd you get from Ogygia to Greece?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Jason could see that Percy was grateful from the look that he was giving Piper.

When Jason had arrived at Camp Jupiter, his home, there was a collective gasps among the hordes of campers when they landed their eyes on him. Jason was anticipating for them to be shocked from the fact that their leader was alive this whole time. However, he wasn't prepared to see them feel betrayed for the committments he's made in the past six months. He might as well write traitor on his forehead.

Reyna would only tolerate him to an extent. She was… delighted to see him. But when he tried to talk privately with her she rendered his attempts useless. Jason wondered if it was the look that he kept giving Piper.

The past six months have bought Piper and Jason closer. They're now among the title of boyfriend and girlfriend but it seemed that he was the only one worried about their future. Okay, he wasn't planning on raising a family or anything like that with her. But if they survive and defeat Gaea and the giants, what will happen to them? Was he going to go back to Camp Jupiter and have Piper tag along? Or was he going to go back to Camp Half-Blood?

Bottom line, it only seemed that Dakota, Gwendylon, Bobby, Hazel and this new guy, Frank, really welcomed him back home. Everyone else was a different story.

Then, there was Percy. Jason didn't know what to think of Percy Jackson (the savior of the world and Olympus, the hero of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.) Percy was obviously a leader. But so was Jason.

At first, Jason shows up and goes on a quest to save Hera, who despises demigods, and some campers treat it like it wasn't much of a big deal. Then Percy comes to Camp Jupiter and BOOM! He's automatically the praetor. He rescues Thanatos, saves the Camp and now he's Camp Jupiter's hero.

Jason respected the son of Neptune, and he didn't show any disdain towards him. He did a lot of great things in his time where as compared to what Percy accomplished, it was nothing Maybe Jason was just exaggerating. Maybe he was just bringing himself down. Or maybe he was feeling… jealous? If someone would ask him that, he would never admit it.

_I blame Juno._

Calypso smiled warmly at Piper, which she returned with her own polite smile.

"It's thanks to Percy that I am here," Calypso explained.

"I know that," Piper said. "I meant how did you end up here."

"Oh, well, Hermes was kind enough to bring me here. Before the first Giant war, my island used to be close to Greece and now it's not even on the map."

Piper nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Calypso reassured.

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, Jason asked, "So, do you know anything about Cosmos? None of us ever heard of her before."

Calypso looked at him curiously, her head tilting. Jason's expression didn't change but his mind raced like an angry swarm of bees.

The dream he had last night made him stay up until the sun rose. He was wide awake, his nerves making him jumpy. He was glad that Hazel had asked him if he knew anything about Cosmos because he didn't want to get caught lying. If it had been, say Annabeth who asked, she would have read him like an open book.

The huntress, Cosmos, wasn't a demigod. She was a goddess. Well, she was a demigod but then she turned into an immortal. An immortal whose existence seemed to be forgotten in time.

But that wasn't what made Jason so agitated. In his dream, he watched her die. Twice.

The first time was by the hands of Hera (not Juno). They were battling over… something. Jason couldn't specify what the catfight was about but he watched Cosmos plead for Hera to listen and, well, she didn't comply. After the battle, Cosmos was blinded in her right eye because Hera used her divine form. No one was there to wake her up, unlike Jason, so she died.

The second time was just as grim as the first but not as gruesome as he had imagined. Cosmos was fighting with Pluto in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by dead bodies. The two were in an ancient city that Jason automatically knew was Athens. Cosmos was winning, and she seemed different. More powerful.

However, she was stabbed in the back by a glowing blade by another goddess. The goddess wept over Cosmos corpse, apologizing and screaming something Jason couldn't understand.

This dream was too confusing. Especially the second time when she died. What kind of killer, especially if your a god, apologizes to their victim?

Seeing someone die twice was horrifying but as a Roman, Jason knew that dying in battle was an honor so what made him so scared?

When Cosmos had appeared, Jason had mistaken her for a much older Thalia except with longer hair. Cosmos fierce personality and fighting skills almost matched his sister's so watching her die was like watching his sister die. It was unbearable. Definitely something Jason wouldn't want to see ever again.

Then, (surprise, surprise) Juno appears out of the blue next to Jason, watching intently and without blinking like she had been standing there the whole time. And for some reason, she doesn't want him to speak of his dream until much, much later.

Jason was tired of the riddles. He wanted answers. The Fates can go screw with someone else's life.

Calypso slowed down her pace and eventually came to a stop. The other campers let out a sigh with their hands on their knees, some even collapsed right on the spot. Jason saw that they started taking out water bottles and taking big gulps, or pouring it on themselves.

Calypso thought for a second. Her eyes fell to the floor and searched the earth like it held some sort of secret she was trying to unveil. "Cosmos… she is everywhere but nowhere."

This caught Annabeth's attention. The blonde rested on a rock, her eyes fixed on Calypso with interest rather than shooting the immortal a cold stare. Percy, Hazel and Frank joined silently. Piper blinked, with her eyebrows pulled in. Jason noted how everyone had a serious or thoughtful expression.

Leo must have been thinking straight because he asked, "What's that suppose to mean?"

The immortal shook her head. She looked up and met our eyes one by one. "I _have_ heard of her," Calypso looked away, biting her lip. "I—I even met her before."

Percy opened his mouth but Calypso quickly said, "I'm sorry but my memory of her is hazy. I have met her but it's hard for me to remember."

Jason frowned. He could pretty much relate to how she was feeling. And considering that Juno didn't want Jason to tell anyone about his dream, he had a good reason to believe that it was her who was blocking Calypso from remembering about the goddess.

Although Juno had asked him to keep quiet about his dream, she didn't make him swear on the Styx. Being repulsed at the queen of gods, he did the exact opposite and told them everything.

"The gods aren't telling us something," Annabeth said, scowling at the thought. Jason could practically see the gears rolling in her head.

"Maybe," Hazel agreed. "They didn't tell us that there was a Greek camp, so they must have a good reason of making sure Cosmos was never mentioned." All the people in their circle mumbled in agreement.

"My question is," Leo said, "what's so important?" Jason looked at his friend in confusion. The son of Hephaestus looked around, his eyebrows arched as he waited for the latter to agree with him. When they didn't, he asked, "I mean, what's so special about her that we need to stop everything we're doing and go visit a statue of her? What makes her so different from others that the gods have to make sure she was never mentioned?"

Everyone's eyes focused on Calypso but she kept her eyes down, her warm brown eyes filled with sadness and sympathy.

"She must have done something… bad," Annabeth suggested. "Otherwise, why would they keep her existence a secret?"

"That's another thing," Piper elicited. "Is she Greek? Or Roman?"

Under his breath, Jason could hear Frank say, "Or both."

"The million dollar question is why tell us now?" Leo asked, smiling and pausing to let that thought sink in. When he thought no one was going to answer, he opened his mouth but Percy cut him off. He explained another dream of his where Hera told him how Cosmos would help them bring peace between the Greeks and Romans.

Annabeth shook her head, incredulously. "Well, we're here now. Nothing we can do about it," she frowned at that last part. Calypso's eyes flicked up and blinked as if she just woke up. "We should get going," Annabeth looked at their escort and nodded. Calypso looked around to the other campers and was puzzled to see that they were exhausted.

Calypso tilted her head. "You're all tired."

Frank snorted and crossed his arms. "You don't say."

Either she didn't understand sarcasm or she was good at ignoring it, Calypso turned her head to where the highway was. "I am sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have walked all the way here. But we're close to my friend. I guarantee he will offer a ride to Athens, and we won't need to walk anymore until then."

"That sounds heavenly," Leo said with a goofy grin, before winking at Calypso. "Is it alright if I sit next to you, gorgeous?"

Piper rolled her eyes and answered for their guide, "Just make sure you don't fall out the window."

Jason chuckled upon seeing Leo narrow his eyes at Piper. He could see that Leo was still embarassed that he fell overboard off his own ship. He wondered if Leo thought of Percy as a threat to his way of finding love. Probably not. Leo wasn't one to hold grudges.

Dakota walked towards them panting like Mrs. O'Leary who they had to leave behind. His flask of kool-aid was empty, so he was parched but he managed to say, "Give us a five–no, ten–minute break."

* * *

Please review! It means alot to the author to see what the readers think about.


	3. Crazy Old Man Gives Us A Ride

**I was suppose to update last week but things got in the way. Hope you guys enjoy! And please review! **_  
_

**Disclaimer: Yeah! I own Percy Jackson! (Thunder starts rumbling) Never mind!**

_Chapter V: Crazy Old Man Gives Us A Ride_

"Johnathan!"

Calypso called through the small store, hoping to find her peculiar friend sitting on the stool in front of the counter like always. Piper pursed her lips, hoping that Calypso's friend would allow her to use the bathroom. Even though she had the ability to use charmspeak, it didn't mean she enjoyed using it to its full advantage whenever she felt like it. She wasn't like Drew. She knew the difference between what was right and what was wrong.

The store (which was named, Tessler's Knick–Knacks) they stopped at was small and simple. Piper would say that it had a kind of homey feeling. She felt comfortable and safe despite the fact that the place looked unstable from the outside. Piper could smell apple scented candles waft in the air. Inside were displays of maps, an empty bulletin board and a cobweb in the corner of the ceiling. The floorboards creaked as she took a step closer inside. There were items that ranged from stuffed animals to fisherman utensils to products any city person would find useful.

In short, Piper concluded that the owner didn't care what he sold, so long as he got some cash.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Leo asked.

When no one answered, Percy said, "Obviously not."

Piper looked around and saw that not one soul was around... until she heard the screaming from upstairs.

Leo glanced at Percy with a smug grin. "Spoke too soon," Percy muttered.

Jason was quick to react, his gladius already drawn while he headed toward the stairs. However, the sound of footsteps coming down stopped him just in time as five little kids ran past him.

All the kids laughed, each one looking different and not related. Piper, Annabeth, Percy, and Hazel were quick to get out of the way while Frank and Leo were a little late which resulted in the little kids pushing them aside. The only reason why they didn't stop them was because each child held a pair of scissors.

"Little vermins!" Piper bought her attention back to the stairs where a man with pumpkin colored hair came crashing down. On his face, he had white pastry spread all over except around his eyes but his cheeks were red with anger. He snarled and hurled what looked like an empty spray can at the door. "Get back here, and I'll give you the beating of a lifetime!"

Piper's eyebrows furrowed. Sure, they were little kids but he couldn't seriously want to put any harm on them regardless of what they had done. A pie to a face was worse than what Piper had seen back in the Wilderness School.

"Johnathan..." Calypso said, taking a brave step closer to the man. Johnathan whipped his head towards her, his eyes furious but it immediately dissolved when he saw the anxious look on Calypso's face. "It's alright. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." The immortal grabbed a cloth and gestured for him to sit on the stool.

Johnathan sighed, but obeyed while she began cleaning his face. "Ah, like Hades it's alright," he said, kicking the carpet miserably. "If I find those midgets on my property one more time, I'm blasting them straight to Tartarus."

The ever so cautious Annabeth gripped the hilt of her knife and asked, "Who are you?"

"Johnathan Tessler, son of Juventas," he said, smoothly. Piper tilted her head. She mentally wracked her brain and tried to remember a god named Juventas. Then she realized that Juventas was actually a goddess and that Juventas was Roman.

"Juventas, the goddess of youth. Better known as Hebe in Greek," Piper said, relieving the confused looks on her allies.

"No need for a history lesson, sweet cheeks," Johnathan said. A heavy sigh left Piper's lips but she didn't say anything. It's bad enough that Leo has to come up with the nicknames.

"Wait," Frank said, brushing invisible dust off his knees, "your Roman but you live in Greece?"

Johnathan arched an eyebrow at him, his reddish brown eyes said he was not in the mood to be questioned. "Yeah, is that a problem?" he challenged.

"Nope," Frank said, quickly. Johnathan grunted, and muttered something incoherent.

Now that all the pie was off his face, Piper got a closer look at him. Johnathan was an okay guy to look at. His orange hair was short in the back but long in the front. His white button up shirt was dirty and it was cut up and ripped which explained why those children were holding scissors. His pants had chalk stains but his brazen appearance made him look somewhat attractive. Piper would guess that he was somewhere in his late twenties.

"So I'm guessing these are the tourists that probably need a ride," John guessed. Calypso, throwing the cloth behind the counter, nodded and gave him a small smile. John sighed but he forced a smile and looked at all the campers in his store.

Piper had the impression that Johnathan was only going to put up with fifty or so demigods just to please Calypso despite being one himself.

"Hey," Percy said, breaking the silence while examining one of the fishing rods, "You wouldn't happen to know someone named Cosmos?"

Johnathan cocked his head and scratched his stubble beard. Piper managed to catch the recognition spread on his face but it quickly vanished. "Doesn't ring a bell."

Percy went back to shopping, looking a little disappointed. Piper glanced at Annabeth and, judging from the look on her face, could tell Annabeth knew that Johnathan was lying.

"Who were those kids?" Piper asked, trying to make conversation.

"And what did they do to you that made you so grouchy?" Leo chimed in, sounding bored. Her friend was currently taking in his surroundings, his eyes darting from one thing to the next like he was searching for gold.

John scowled at the two demigods. Calypso rubbed Johnathan's shoulder and he seemed to relax like her fingers were magic.

"I don't have to answer to you," was what the older man said.

"What happened?" Calypso asked, sweetly.

John hesitated before looking away. He closed his eyes, and just shook his head.

Calypso exchanged a worried glance with Piper. Piper just shrugged, knowing that some things weren't her business. She stepped over to Jason where he was reading—or trying to read from the looks of it—a thick book with Annabeth, Frank and Hazel.

"Whatcha guys reading?" Piper asked, once she was close to them.

Frank, who was the only one who didn't have dyslexia or ADHD, said, "The Legendary Spartans."

Curious, Piper cocked her head. "Spartans?"

Annabeth's confused look disappeared and she straightened up at the mention of Spartans.

"Spartans are a superhuman race of Greek soldiers," Annabeth explained. "They're basically super-soldiers. Trained to be the best of the best."

"Wow," Frank said in awe.

"I think I've heard of them before," Hazel added.

Annabeth nodded. "That's right. Spartans were very disciplined in their line of work. It seems they were the only thing that the Romans were proud to admire about the Greeks."

With the book in his hands, Jason was careful not to drop it because he was interested in the topic. "Are they're any left?" he asked.

Annabeth shook her head and she managed a weak smile. "We could have really used them. I've read that they were extremely loyal, and they never questioned an order. The best ideal army anyone could imagine."

Behind Piper, someone cleared their throat. Johnathan was glaring at them, his arms crossed. He was wearing glasses this time and from Piper's own personal opinion, they didn't seem to suit him.

"Are we done shopping?" the older man asked, impatiently.

"Um," Frank said, looking lost. "Is this book for sale?"

John tilted his head, and squinted his eyes. His eyes bulged when he saw the title. "That? No way! It took me years to find that book."

"Perhaps we could borrow it?" Piper asked, hoping the charmspeak would do its work. John looked suspiciously at her, but she clasped her hands behind her back innocently. It seemed to work because he shrugged nonchalantly.

"If we're done with the Q&A, I'm gonna call Stanley and see if he's free," John said, his voice thick with derisive. Before he went to the stairs, he threw his guests a devious smile over his shoulder. "Make sure you take the opportunity to go potty, kiddies. It's gonna be a _long_ ride," And with that, he disappeared up the stairs.

"Who even says potty anymore?" Leo wondered out loud.

* * *

After a half an hour lunch, everyone got their potty break. Although it was a long line and there was only one bathroom, so it took about an hour for everyone's bladder to be relieved.

Annabeth had sticked to Piper's side like she was made out of glue. Piper knew that she was still upset about Calypso kissing Percy. Even though it was just a kiss on the cheek.

Piper put herself in Annabeth's shoes and she realized that she would have been very upset if Jason allowed some random girl to just kiss him on the cheek like it was nothing.

Being the daughter of Aphrodite, she felt obliged to bring them back together even though it was probably best not fo meddle in other people's situation. Annabeth just got him back, and now Percy's slowly slipping from her fingers.

"Hey Annabeth?" she asked, hoping her voice sounded calm. The two girls were sitting on the bench, supposedly still eating. "You okay?"

The older girl glanced at her with narrowed eyes. Piper tried not to flinch under her heavy scrutinizing stare.

After a while, Annabeth sighed, and said, "Yeah."

Piper wanted to say that she wasn't and to stop lying but before she could two school buses fell out of the sky right in front of her. The bus was this close to crushing her foot, missing it only by a few inches.

Piper couldn't help but scream. Annabeth jumped in her seat and pulled out her knife, ready for a fight. Piper's hand flew to her heart where it pounded like a thousand beating drums. Everybody stopped what they were doing and started gathering around the buses.

"What happened?" Jason asked, gripping Piper's shoulder. His blue eyes scanned her for any sign of injury. "Are you okay?" She nodded, vigorously.

The driver, an old man with glasses and a visor, stepped out shakily from the bus. "Stanley!" John ran up to the old man, a smile on his face. The two talked in hushed tones. Though Piper could hear Stanley say something about monkeys.

"What just happened?" Annabeth demanded.

"That's what I want to know," Jason said.

"Your ride is here. That's what." John retorted.

Annabeth glared at the older man. "Two school buses suddenly fall from the sky, and nearly crushed one of our campers! Are you too blind to see that could have killed Piper?"

"Well, she's lucky it didn't."

"You're lucky it didn't!"

"Enough!" Calypso said, emerging from the crowd. The immortal stood next to John and pleaded silently for him to stop.

Johnathan sighed and muttered something. He shook his head and took a deep sigh. "All aboard kids!" he announced. His eyes averted to one of the tables, and his face twisted into one filled with confusion and disbelief. Piper followed his gaze and spotted a red harpy chewing on a cinnamon pretzel.

"Ella likes cinnamon, especially on pretzels. The world's largest pretzel weighed 431 pounds, 12 feet long, made by Auntie Anne's in Lake Charles, Louisiana," Ella muttered as she continued to eat her snack.

Piper glanced at the older man, who gave her a questioning look. She shook her head and climbed in the school bus with Jason and Leo behind her.

"Talk about deja vu," Leo said, a smile clearly evident in his voice.

"No kidding," Jason said.

As much as Piper loved to walk down memory lane, it still hurt when she recalled how Jason couldn't remember her. The stupid Mist twisted her memory, making her believe her relationship with Jason actually happened. She still wondered if certain things in her life were a fabrication of her imagination.

When they had flown to Camp Jupiter, Piper was frightened at the idea of losing him. Her mother must have blessed her with luck because Jason didn't have a special someone waiting for him. Though she was wary of that daughter of Bellona taking her place. Jason reassured her that his relationship with Reyna was a thing of the past.

Like last time, Leo sat in front of them and Piper sat next to the window with Jason to her left. Her heartbeat quickened when she glanced down at Jason's hand, contemplating whether she should take it. Her eyes went to look outside, obviously lost in thought.

Something warm compressed on Piper's hand. Startled, she turned her head and came nose-to-nose with her boyfriend. Her face flushed, and she tried to steady her heart so it wouldn't jump out of her chest. Her eyes went down to see her hand in Jason's.

"You okay?" Jason asked, his face painted with concern.

"Yeah," she ensured him, offering him a smile. Piper leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She chuckled when she saw the slight red appear on his face. "You worry too much."

"Save it for later, lovebirds," Leo said, though Piper didn't know how he knew what they were doing with the seat giving them just enough privacy.

"Where's Calypso?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, I specifically asked her to sit next to me," Leo said, sounding hurt though it was playful.

"Hey," Percy said. "What's John doing?"

The three friends bought their attention to the window and saw carrot head, as Piper liked to call him, climb into the other school bus. Piper stood up and her eyes widened when she saw Stanley get into the driver's seat. One of the Apollo kids had to help him put his seatbelt on.

"Oh gods," Percy said. "Can't one of us drive this thing?"

What really caught Piper's attention was that Calypso was climbing into the other school bus with John. Piper tapped Leo's shoulder and pointed to the immortal. Leo's face fell and he opened the window and yelled, "Hey! Can I ride with you?"

John snickered, and turned away. He didn't even bother answering back. Calypso just gave a reassuring smile.

"We're all gonna die," Leo said. "It was nice knowing you guys.

"Don't be so dramatic," Piper said.

"Yeah," Frank said, dryly. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Still standing, Piper saw that Annabeth sat next to Leo and on the three seat next to her was Percy, Frank and Hazel. With Percy sitting on the edge, Piper could tell that Percy wanted to make amends with his girlfriend.

Best not to intrude, Piper thought as she sat down.

The rest of the ride absolutely terrified Piper. Jason would occasionally release his hand from her death grip and rub it before placing it back. Sometimes the bus would go off lane and almost crash into another car more than once. She prayed to Hermes, hoping that the god of travel could bring them to Athens in one piece. She never had carsickness before but every bump made her stomach lurch. The others kept themselves busy though it was crowded and everyone kept their voices to a minimum.

She could see Frank reading aloud to Hazel and Percy. The three were absorbed in that Spartans book, and Piper could see that Annabeth was as well. Piper would have listened along but couldn't.

Every sign she read on the road bought them closer to Athens but just a little.

Jason noticed the anxious look on her face. "Maybe you should sleep," he suggested.

"I don't think I _can_ sleep," Piper said but when the words left her mouth her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton of bricks. She slumped on Jason's shoulder before she was rendered unconscious.

* * *

Before Piper had found out she was a demigod, her dreams were always short and she was always placed in the middle of the situation rather than start at the beginning. And she would never find out what happened at the end. Whether she understood what was going on or she didn't, she went along with it.

She couldn't say the same about demigod dreams. But she had to admit, they were random and downright weird though they were always crucial.

Piper watched as a woman, probably in her twenties, with dark hair and blueish green eyes nurture a baby that was wrapped in her arms. The woman looked affectionately at her child, while the baby was breastfeeding.

Piper shifted uncomfortably, and looked around to take in her surroundings. She was in a hut with wooden tables, wooden chairs, wooden beds. Almost everything was made by trees, except the curtains and blankets, which Piper found very enviromentalist but she soon realized that the time era was possibly bought back to when electricity wasn't even invented.

When her eyes went back to the woman who was still breastfeeding her baby, Piper was startled to see her mother. You'd have to be a dead man to think the goddess of beauty wasn't gorgeous. Of course, Aphrodite looked her best in plain jeans and a white top. As a matter of fact, she looked exactly the same when Piper last encountered her in a dream at Medea's department store.

"Hello, my sweet," Aphrodite greeted casually, in her honey-sweet voice. The goddess sat on the edge of the bed, where the woman was oblivious to the two strangers in her house.

"Mom," Piper said, though it felt a little weird calling the goddess of love mom.

Aphrodite paused before her eyes fell from Piper's gaze. Confused, Piper didn't know that it was in an Olympian god's nature to look ashamed and so lugubrious. Piper contemplated whether she should comfort her mother, or just stand there and do nothing.

Thankfully, she didn't do anything stupid because her mother's form had shimmered. Aphrodite was now dressed in a short sleeve toga that dragged on the floor. A golden cord hung at her waist and Piper was shocked to see a sword attached to it. Aphrodite's eyes met Piper's except there was a sort of stern aura around her mother that made Piper want to crawl under the wooden table.

Piper realized something and the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. "Venus," she said.

Venus gave her a firm nod before turning back to the woman on the bed who was no longer breastfeeding her child.

"Do you remember what I said the last time we had met?" Venus asked. "About you being the mediator so that the Romans and Greeks would play nice?"

Piper nodded, wordlessly. "You are doing a wonderful job so far," Venus stated, she went back to look approvingly at Piper. "However, the Fates are seeing discord between the two. Don't make that face, I said you were doing a wonderful job."

"So far," Piper muttered.

Venus sighed. "If there's one person who can offer a peace treaty without evoking war, it's her." She gestured to the mother next to her with the baby still in her arms.

"That's her, isn't it?" Piper asked. "Cosmos."

"Ah yes, Cosmos, she was such a... prestigious woman," Piper couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. She had heard about the magnificent skills Cosmos had in archery but seeing her now, taking care of a child in the way that a parent would act when they received their newborn baby, it was hard to believe that this woman was among the title of prestigious.

"And she's supposedly a goddess," Piper said. "but I've never heard of her."

Venus pursed her lips. "Cosmos is a very touchy subject that we gods as Romans, not Greeks, see as unfit to talk about."

"But she must be important, right?"

"Of course, why else would the gods keep her as a secret?"

_Why would you keep her as a secret?_

Venus craned her graceful neck to get a better view of the small bundle of joy that Cosmos was rocking back and forth.

"I can't tell you much but—"

"That's a shocker."

"—that Cosmos has been hurting longer than most heroes."

Piper was taken aback that she actually stumbled backwards. "How exactly is she hurting?" Cosmos looked anything but hurtful from Piper's point of view.

"Well, for example, that small baby was killed by the hands of Cosmos herself."

Piper's jaw dropped so low she was afraid it would reach the floor. For a few seconds, she didn't say anything while the goddess still waited for a clear response.

"Why would she—how could she—" A few words left her mouth but her shock made her sound like a blubbering idiot. Piper stopped herself, and thought about what Venus said. "Well, of course she'd be hurt! She killed her own baby!"

The goddess nodded. "By accident, nonetheless. However, if you ever asked Cosmos, which I'm sure you will in a few days, she will blame the gods for causing her such torment."

"Wait, what do you mean I'll be able to ask her?" As much as Piper was okay with the idea of being a demigod, she had heard of all the harsh punishments that the gods had done. All the unfair treatment that they gave to mortals. Heck, her own mother tried to use a love potion on Pysche so she could fall in love with the most ugliest man out of an act of jealousy because the mortal woman was described to be more beautiful than Aphrodite. So Piper didn't ask why Cosmos would be hurt because of the gods.

Venus looked at Piper, her expression was sad and looked heavy with regret. "That is another thing you and your friends must uncover on your own. Given that you survive on your way to her—and I'm sure you will because you seven always seem to turn the odds against itself. But Juno is right, and I'm certainly ashamed to have caused Cosmos such pain. Which is why I need you to teach her how to love again."

And just like that, the dream ended.


	4. The Fire–Breathing Freak Strikes

**I told one of my reviewers that I would update in a few days. It ended up being a week. You know who you are. **

**I apologize for the delay but I decided to update today because it's Percy's birthday! Happy Birthday, Perce! =D**

**Enjoy!**

_Chapter VI: The Fire–Breathing Freak Strikes_

The whole school bus ride unnerved Leo so what better way to calm your nerves than to pull some screws and gears from your pockets and start fiddling with them. Unlike Piper, he didn't feel like falling asleep and he could sense that Annabeth wouldn't appreciate it if he found himself leaning against her. Listening to chubby face read outloud was like listening to one of his mom's bedtime stories. Not that he hated listening to them but it was still painful for him to reflect upon such memories.

Besides, he couldn't hear and all he could catch was William Shakespeare, Helen Keller and Edgar Allan Poe and something about mangos but that may have been Frank wanting something to eat. Leo didn't know how those names would pop up in a greek book but they did.

This may have sounded pathetic but Leo was actually waiting for something to happen. He was expecting, hoping actually, for some sort of monster to come popping out. He expected the old man, Stan Free—no, Stanley—to transform into some sort of Fury. Or, even better, maybe that pumpkin butt, Tessler, could turn into a monster. Leo would be Calypso's knight in shining armor and she'd be all over him.

In truth, Leo just wanted an excuse to move around rather than sit in a crowded school bus with a bunch of ADHD kids where almost everyone was breathing down each other's necks.

That was another thing. Why didn't John want the demigods on the other school bus? They were already cramped enough in this bus so what were his motives?

Whatever, Leo thought. It wasn't like he could fly over to a moving bus and tell Tessler to deal with it.

So he focused on more pressing matters. His latest dream that he had when they took off to sail to Greece had Leo scratching his head for a full hour.

Leo found himself in a gray forest where it looked like he could run and run for miles and still end up in the same spot. That is, if he could sprint fast enough. His dream involved him jogging in slow motion. He didn't understand why but he guessed that it made himself look more attractive if he was in slow-mo.

Other than that, Leo had spotted something big and red with elegant wings in that forest. Instead of running away like his instincts told him to, he chased after it. But he hadn't even made close enough contact before the red bird turned around faster than Leo could blink and consumed him in a heap of flames.

After that, he woke up leaving him to ponder long and hard about his mysterious dream. When Leo had actually went in the woods back at Camp, it was to retrieve Festus. That redbird was a fire–breather so it only made sense for Leo to assume that he was going to tame it just like what he had done to Festus. The only difference was that Festus was a mechanical dragon and redbird was, well, an organic living, breathing animal. And Leo had a feeling that taming a twenty foot bird would be more difficult than taming Festus partially because the bird was naturally wild.

But who was he kidding? He only tamed Festus because it was a machine. Something a kid of Hephaestus could fix. He was talking about a real freaking bird that didn't have circuits and bolts hardwired into its head.

Leo tried to approach Annabeth on the subject of discussing his dream but Percy up and went on about how they needed to go to Greece. Now, he couldn't muster the courage to tell her about it. Leo hadn't planned on sitting next to Annabeth, but the chance presented itself. Although, he was really looking forward to sitting with Calypso. He had been too busy with focusing on her though they had just met.

But as beautiful as Calypso was, she wasn't really his type. She's got the looks but no spunk. She was rather... boring, as he would have put it. Leo wanted someone like Thalia.

Bringing himself out of his reverie, he tapped the blonde girl on the shoulder and pursed his lips when she raised her eyebrows in advance as she waited to hear what he wanted to say. Right when Leo opened his mouth one of the campers screamed.

Before he could blink, something to his right crashed on the bus, making Leo inadvertently push Annabeth off her seat. Her gray eyes always set Leo on edge but this time it was directed towards what was behind him.

Leo turned and saw the monster, only to stare wide–eyed at the creature. The creature had red and yellow wings, it's chest was light but surrounding it was orange feathers which eventually turned into a bright red. They were pieces of armor placed on the monster, however there was no rider.

And that was the strange part. No, not that there was no rider. The armor stretched from its neck and disappeared behind its back. Its chest was bare and there were no straps that held it together. It just stuck to the monster's body like it was glued there.

Its talons were sharper than most of the blades Leo had made. Right now, its claws wedged into the window and was dangerously close to killing him.

None of this seemed to faze Leo, though. He half expected for his dream to come true while another part told him he was just kidding himself. Look where that got him.

Above him, the monster's beak picked at the top like it was pecking for prey. And that may have been the case because it just so happened to catch Hazel by her shirt.

"Phoenix!"

Everything after that happened in a blur. Greek and Romans pulled out their weapons while the bus swerved on the highway. Someone grabbed Leo by the back of his shirt and hauled him down. On the ceiling, the monster ripped a hole big enough for it's whole head to fit. The bus kept tilting from one side to the other, tossing campers around and making them tumble. Percy, who stood on his seat, slashed Riptide on the monster's neck, causing the Phoenix to drop Hazel.

Everyone kept hitting the monster but the rock hard armor deflected their blows. The Apollo kids arrows bounced off. Swords clashed against the monster but it did little to no effect. Tyson swung his club but the force behind it only made the monster shook its head before it continued to attack.

The Phoenix's beady red eyes found Leo. It's heavy gaze bore into his as if the creature was saying, _You_. The creature's beak snapped at him like he was suddenly the world's tastiest birdfood.

Being eaten wasn't a problem for him. Back at that abandoned car factory in Detroit, Ma Gasket tried to eat him and his best friends. And they lived to tell the tale without losing any body parts.

It was times like this when Leo was really frustrated with what the mortals were seeing. Through the Mist, they were probably wondering why a tree had toppled over them and were amazed on how they were still moving.

Whatever the case, nobody helped.

Leo scrambled to stand up, which probably wasn't the best idea especially since there was a freakin' bird over his head, trying to peck on the campers heads like they were playing a regular game of duck, duck goose. His eyes went to the front of the bus and a plan formed in his head.

Over his shoulder, Leo yelled, "Jason! Come with me!"

The son of Jupiter didn't argue as they half-ran, half-stumbled to the front. They kept their balance but even with their efforts, they ended up landing on some of the campers left and right.

"Oh gods," Jason said under his breath. Leo had already seen Stanley slump over the steering wheel. He thought it'd be easier to have Jason extract the old man and move him somewhere safe whereas Leo would have pushed Stanley aside. Then later, Leo would kick himself for doing something as blasphemous. He is Catholic after all, and his mom always taught him to respect his elders.

Jason muttered something in Latin. Probably a prayer, Leo assumed. Jason didn't need to be told what to do because he immediately picked Stanley up and set him down on the seats, ignoring the protests the campers were giving him.

Leo plomped himself on the driver's seat, which was suspiciously warm, and started to get to work. It was hard for his instincts to take over, what with all the mayhem happening behind him and the fact that Leo felt like he was abandoning his friends. He tried so hard to not think and just to get through the ordeal.

The screams and battle cries that kept going on was distracting. He heard Coach Hedge scream, "Die, you filthy red pigeon!" and couldn't help but smile but it soon faltered when the bus shook again. Leo managed to get them to stay on the same lane while avoiding the cliff that would lead them fifty feet down and into the ocean.

In the rearview mirror, Leo saw Annabeth slash her knife at the Phoenix's claw. The monster shrieked, a noise that nearly shattered everyone's eardrums but ended up breaking the windows. Tiny pieces of glass splattered against Leo's face and fell onto his lap. Several even flew into his mouth but he spit them out and brushed off the specks of blood on his cheeks.

"Leo!" Piper yelled over the madness. She limped her way towards him as she held onto the seats for support. Her hair was in disarray, a scowl set on her face but overall Leo thought she looked great.

Jason, who was holding on the railings tightly, glanced at his girlfriend and paled upon realizing that he left her behind. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just fine. How are you?" She said, sarcastically. She bought her attention to Leo and spread out the crumpled map in one hand while trying to keep herself from falling. She frowned when she couldn't read where they were as she squinted her eyes. Piper briefly looked up, and pointed her finger at the map.

"We're here," she said, trying to keep herself from shaking. Behind them, the Phoenix bellowed, while its wings flapped loudly. "Make for the next exit and drive straight into the forest."

"Why at the forest?" Leo asked, struggling to keep his eyes on the road.

The Phoenix let out another piercing shriek and the clashes of the various weapons stopped. Leo's fears on the Phoenix breathing fire were confirmed when he felt the heat wave hit the back on his neck.

A chorus of ear–splitting screams erupted, causing Leo's heart to drop. He risked a glance over his shoulder to see his friends—his family—being swallowed by the flames.

Without thinking, he shot up from his seat with his three pound hammer already in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Piper said.

"I'm gonna do something useful!" Leo said. "Grab the wheel!"

"I can't drive!" she said.

"Then when you stole that BMW, how'd you get away with it?" Leo countered.

"I didn't steal it!"

"Are you guys seriously gonna talk about this when we're in the middle of an attack!" Jason interrupted.

Leo shot a him glance. Then he gestured for Jason to help her, and said, "We're already at the exit, just keep going straight. Easy stuff," before he charged at the Phoenix.

The first spot that Leo hit was the monster's beak. Its whole foot broke through the window and was resting on top of the seats. Right now, its large talon hit him, causing him to lose his balance. The Phoenix's head shot back up, out into the open where it shook its head but it remained in place.

Leo groaned and finally stood up. He tilted his head back and his mind immediately went on autopilot. Before he knew what he was doing, he jumped on the seat and started climbing through the hole on the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Leo could hear Percy say. He strained himself not to answer that and kept going.

With his hands on top of the school bus, it occured to him that some people—_cough,_ Percy—weren't aware of his pyro powers.

What was he thinking? Coming up here, and trying to play hero was more suited for guys like Jason or Percy. Heck, even Piper or Annabeth would have been expected to do something like this. Not Leo.

Too late to go back down, Leo thought. And there's no way for me to go back without looking like a coward.

Planting both his feet firmly on top of the bus, Leo tightened his hold on his mallet.

When the Phoenix spit out another burst of flames, he didn't bother dodging and lunged forward. He lifted the hammer over his head before bringing it down on its beak once again. The monster pulled back, shaking its head. It let out another shriek right in Leo's face while its elegant wings flapped furiously.

Leo grimaced and fanned the air in front of his face. "Whoa, say it, don't spray it."

The school bus jumped as it drove over a bump in the road, making Leo fall. His feet dangled off the side of the bus, and his chin ached from the impact. Thin trees surrounded them, as the leaves started to block the sun. Some branches even hit his legs. Panic overwhelmed him as he felt himself slipping. He clawed for anything to grab, resulting in his hammer to fall.

"Great," Leo muttered.

"I got you, little man."

"Who you callin—" Leo was interrupted when two big, sweaty hands wrapped around his wrists and hauled him up. His sides ached when Tyson lifted him before putting him back on his feet.

The bus jumped once again. It was a miracle Piper didn't crash into anything but Leo wasn't going to jinx it by saying it outloud. He steadied himself by gripping Tyson's shoulder. The Phoenix blew out another heap of flames their way but neither of them were affected. Leo couldn't say the same for the trees.

A crazy—probably, stupid—idea formed in Leo's head. He reached in his toolbelt and bought out his pack of breath mints. He poured everything out in his hand and threw the small container over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Leo said. The creature glared at him with intense blood red eyes. "You call that fire? I've seen lighters cast better flames than you!"

Whether the monster understood him or not, it was displeased to hear Leo even speak. On other occasions, the formidable look that the monster was giving him would have Leo running with his tail between his legs but this was different.

Just as he planned, the Phoenix opened its beak but Leo quickly threw the breath mints straight into the monster's mouth.

A moment later, the redbird coughed. From the looks of it, the monster made a choking sound as its long neck stretched forward with its beak wide open.

Leo's eyes widened in astonishment. "I can't believe it's working!" he said, truimphantly. He bought out more breath mints and threw them into the monster's mouth.

"Bad birdie!" Tyson said, his voice barely audible over the wind that hissed in Leo's ear. The cyclops locked the Phoenix in a choke hold and started pounding it with his fist. "Go away!"

Leo pulled his head back and laughed. The perks of being a demigod, he thought, is seeing strange things everyday and having to live with it.

When Leo looked back at Tyson, his smile vanished. The creature released its hold on the bus with Tyson still on its neck. Much to Leo's horror, he watched the Phoenix snatch Tyson and fly away.

"Tyson!" Leo screamed. His curly hair flapped all around him, obscuring his periphery but he saw the twenty foot redbird fly away with the cyclops in its claw.

In the corner of his eye, he saw another red shape follow the Phoenix.

Leo was paying them too much attention that he yelped when he felt something hard and wet his back. Soon after, water swallowed him as he tried to swim to the surface.

* * *

Yay, we get to see some action. And strangely its in Leo's perspective but it makes everything much lighter, don't you agree?

Thank you for those who have favorited, followed and reviewed.

Tell me what you guys think. In other words, review.

See you in the next chapter!


	5. I Take A Not So Short Swim

_Chapter VII: I Take A Not So Short Swim_

Trying to swim in the water with a bruised chest and a burned arm was like trying to fight back an entire army single–handedly. You'd have to have the strength and training of a Spartan to accomplish that. So to say, it was impossible.

Hazel, however, was a demigod. And she had no plans on dying again. Especially after she just survived her first quest a few weeks ago.

Using her good arm to swim, she paddled her way up though she had a difficult time doing so. Underwater, her vision blurred an she had to blink several times. Pain shot up her body as her eyes widened. In the water, she screamed though it was blocked and it was replaced by bubbles that flitted to the surface.

Her father, Pluto, had said that a descendant of Neptune would save her from her curse. She wondered if those rules applied whenever she was in trouble.

The emptiness of the water reminded her of the Fields of Asphodel. It was eternal and hollow. Never ending.

Long ago, when she was dead, Hazel had come across a man in the Fields of Asphodel. The man whose name was Balthazar explained that he was a Greek Spartan. That's why hearing them felt so familiar. She spent some time with him, finding his company somewhat comforting. He told her stories, some that had bored her and some that had peaked her interests.

Hazel recalled the time when Balthazar told her that Spartans had to undergo this special ritual which decided whether they should be qualified to become a Spartan.

**Flashback**

_"You see, not anybody can get into the Spartan Program," Balthazar said. His light blonde hair brushed his square shoulders. His skin had a perfect tan and he was built like a mountain. The muscles on his arms looked thicker than Hazel's petite body. When he would stand, Hazel would need to look up so often it hurt the back of her neck. But he spoke with such a soft voice it was like he was trying to befriend a wounded animal._

_A gold cape flowed behind him. His Spartan attire consisted of a breastplate, greaves, armguards and a sheath with no sword. He carried no helmet. Probably lost it, Hazel thought._

_"Your parents or the Director, if he finds you worthy," he continued. "signs you up but you needed to start training as a child. And when you get older, say about seventeen, or nineteen, that's when the real training starts. The ritual that all Spartans went through… well, it wasn't exactly pleasant but I had passed."_

_"What did you have to do?" Hazel asked, her arms wrapped around her legs. The wheat brushed against her arms, tickling her but she swatted them away._

_"First, we needed to swear a pledge. 'To protect, to serve and to die for our people,'" he recited. The older man grimaced. "There was something else but…"_

_Balthazar never made eye contact when he talked. But when he looked up and met Hazel's inquiring stare, she could sense the fear behind them._

_"But what?" Hazel asked._

_Balthazar gulped. "Let me show you."_

_The middle-aged man started to take off his breastplate. He tugged at the top of his shirt and pulled down to show…_

_Hazel's eyes widened. The image burned into her skull and she knew she would never forget what she saw._

_Over his left breast, there was a brand. It was old—about the size of an apple but it was etched into his skin. It looked like a trident except there were six points; three on the top and three on the bottom. The bottom middle point was longer while the two on its side was short. The arrow on the middle top was short but the ones on either side stretched farther, their tips almost touching. Hazel realized that the brand was the same design as the army insignia on his shoulder pad._

_"The experience… it is something I shall never forget." Balthazar said. "It was unimaginable pain. So much burning…"_

_"Wha—" Hazel was at loss for words. "But why?_

_Balthazar sighed. He placed his hand over his brand and patted it softly. "Where is your heart located, my dear? Over your left breast. They thought that getting your heart branded was a way of showing the purity within a heart. If you survived this process, you were deemed worthy as a Spartan."_

_"I—still don't understand."_

_"Hmm, perhaps it is because you have not lived long enough to see why it was necessary. We Spartans were very different from regular soldiers. Trained in every form of combat ever since we could walk. It was proof of who we are. But some, such as yourself, may think of it as a way for us to go into the next rank."_

_Hazel nodded. "I'm guessing after that all you did was train."_

_Balthazar snorted and looked like he was glad that there was someone who could understand._

**End Of Flashback**

While Hazel recalled that memory, she couldn't help but look at her SPQR tattoo. She didn't have it when she was dead. It was only now that she understood why getting branded was such an importance.

With all the strength she could muster, she paddled up with her good arm. Her head broke into the surface but only for a second did she manage to get enough air into her lungs before she was plunged back into the water.

In that one second, however, she saw where land was. Exactly to her left, not very far but could she make it?

No, I can, Hazel thought. She wasn't destined to die today.

When she started swimming in that direction, she puffed her cheeks and kicked her legs like how she'd been taught. Her chest ached, bubbles forming around her as the pain increased. Soon, the tip of her feet hit the rocky ground. Hope surged through her body and she was now certain that she would make it.

Then everything went wrong. Something wrapped around her ankle like it suddenly decided to ruin her day. Whatever hope she had left transformed into panic. She didn't bother turning around to see what caught her but the more she struggled, the more it resisted.

Hazel pulled up her leg, hoping to get away from it but unfortunately, she found herself being yanked down. Another scream came out but it was swallowed. Her eyelids were heavy, her shoulders slumped and she felt her whole body go numb. Her last thought was if she would be accepted into Elysium.

* * *

Hazel sat upright which wasn't the best idea because her chest began screaming in agony.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked. "No, wait—that's a stupid question. 'Course, your not."

When Hazel could see through the white spots that clouded her vision, she saw a very concerned Frank. His hand went on her back and gently helped her lie back down. All around her, cots were set up with injured campers occupying them. The sky was painted a beautiful orange with purple-ish clouds filling the sky. The sunset would have been more amazing if Hazel hadn't felt so terrible.

She eyed Frank and managed a smile. He sat on a makeshift rock which didn't look so comfortable, displeasure evident on his face.

Hazel cleared her throat. "Where—?"

"Still at the lake," Frank said.

"How long—"

"Just a few minutes," he said, sounding relieved. "You scared us all."

Hazel couldn't see his face but she could hear the guilt in his voice.

"It's not your fault," Hazel said feebly.

Frank didn't say anything. His hand clutched hers like it was _his_ life that was on the line.

Realization swept over her, and she was tempted to sit up again.

The burned stick, Hazel thought. Gods, she was so stupid.

Not only was she going to drown herself, but she was drowning Frank, as well.

"Frank, I'm so sorry," Hazel said, her voice quivering. "The stick, I—I didn't mean to—I forgot…"

"Your worried about me?" Frank asked, incredulously. He squeezed her hand. "You were about to drown! I thought you were gone."

Hazel opened her mouth but she stopped herself. She didn't have enough energy to continue. Her head pounded, and her chest ached so she was most definitely not in the condition to argue.

From behind, a girl's voice asked, "Is she awake?"

"No, she's just sleeping with her eyes open."

"Leo, _shut up_."

At the name, Hazel tensed. The Sammy clone came into her view and she suppressed a squeak. It was hard to imagine that this boy wasn't her ex-boyfriend. They looked exactly alike, and in the small month she spent studying him while preparing for the trip to Greece, their mannerisms matched. Even his smile…

Snap out of it, Hazel told herself.

Frank glanced at Leo suspiciously but the son of Hephaestus didn't notice.

Piper popped into her left side. Above her eyebrow ran a stitched scar but she kept a smile plastered on her face. "I thought it was already too late when we pulled you out," she said to Hazel. "It's good to know your doing okay."

Hazel gave a small smile. She liked Piper. She was such a good friend, someone you could talk to without feeling uneasy though that may be because she could charmspeak.

"So, who pulled me out?" Hazel asked, trying to make conversation.

"_Moi _(Me)," Piper said, offering a smile.

Hazel mouthed a thank you and shut her eyes, hoping to find some sleep. However, something was bothering her. When the bus had merged into the forest, she could sense a tunnel but it was dug deep into the earth and Hazel had a feeling that it wasn't used for subway purposes. It wasn't near, and the trail was faint and it was definitely there.

The voices of her companions kept her awake. Not that she minded. She was afraid what dreams would haunt her once she shut her eyes.

"Do you have an extra towel?" Piper asked Leo.

"One towel, coming right up."

Curious, Hazel tilted her head to the right so she could get a better view of Leo digging into his rucksack. What surprised both her and Piper was that Leo bought out a small red bag out of his backpack.

"You have a bag in your bag?" Piper asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Leo said, looking straight at her while rummaging through his stuff. "Unlike you, lazy bum, I actually carry one." Piper rolled her eyes while he handed her something soft and dry.

Moments later, Piper gasped and dropped her towel.

"Leo! What is this?" Piper asked.

Leo looked down at the cloth that he handed her and met the daughter of Aphrodite's eyes. "I'm trying to help you, Piper!"

"I don't want to use your stinky sock as a towel!" Piper shouted back.

"I didn't even use this one! And my feet don't stink! Besides, it's dry and brand new," he prompted.

"And what makes you think I'll use it?"

"Geez, your acting like a daughter of Aphrodite. Oh wait, you _are_ one."

Hazel chuckled. Piper's eyes flashed dangerously. Leo was ready to make a run for it when Annabeth, who materialized out of nowhere, spoke up.

"Will you two stop bickering?" she growled. Her gray eyes silenced the two of them, making them droop their heads. "We have two people dead and the last thing we need is for someone to start acting like a child."

From her cot, Hazel said weakly, "No, three people are dead."

Annabeth, Frank, Piper and Leo whipped their heads in Hazel's direction.

"Who else is dead?" Frank asked, nervously.

Piper took a sharp breath. "Oh no. Jason…" She started sprinting in another direction until the group couldn't see her anymore.

"He's not dead," Hazel said. She didn't know how but she just knew that Jason wasn't dead.

Beside her, Percy was silently swatting away mosquitos while keeping track with the conversation. Hazel could feel his form stiffen. "W-where's Tyson?" His green eyes darted toward Leo, his face sparkling with hope.

"He's not dead," Hazel repeated gently though her voice was hoarse.

"Yeah," Leo agreed. The son of Hephaestus squirmed uncomfortably. He looked thoughtful, as if he was choosing what to say next. "The Phoenix just... scooped him up and left."

Percy's eyes widened. For five minutes, no one said anything. Percy rubbed his face and took a deep sigh.

"He'll be fine," Annabeth assured. She placed her hand on her boyfriend's back while rubbing his back. So far, that was the only affection she showed to Percy since Calypso arrived.

"That still doesn't answer the question," Frank said flatly. "Who else is dead?"

Just then, Coach Hedge came up to them, his whistle gone and his curly hair flattened on his skull.

Hazel's fear was confirmed when she forced herself to tilt her chin down to get a better view of Coach Hedge's solemn expression. The instant that his eyes hardened made Hazel's stomach twist into knots.

"Bad news," Hedge said. "Another camper has gone down."

* * *

Anybody else hate school? I was suppose to update last week but my school work got in the way. I haven't even done my summer homework 0.o

This chapter was just a filler but I already know what's gonna happen in chapter 9.

See you in the next chapter!


	6. A Call Of Duty Is A Call For A Dilemma

_Chapter VIII: A Call Of Duty Is A Call For A Dilemma_

Frank never felt so stupid before.

Like the klutz he was, he almost let Hazel drown. He had went to throw the book they were borrowing from Johnathan out the window when the school bus fell into the lake. He was hoping that the book would hit dry land.

He could imagine his Grandma saying, _Fai Zhang! You clumsy oaf! You finally get the girl and you leave her to fend for herself!_

Thanks for the support, Grandmother, Frank thought.

Looking at it now, he wanted to toss The Legendary Spartans into the pyre. But something made him hold it with both hands like he was afraid it might vanish once it left his sights.

Three people dead. Hazel was right. Well, duh, she was a daughter of Pluto after all.

But having to watch two funerals in one year didn't ease Frank. Stanley and the two Greek demigods, Kyle Cord and Mary-Ann Harris, burned in the pyre. A drachma were pressed over their eyes as their remains disintegrated.

Most campers were injured and they were all persuaded to go back to the Argo II via school bus. Johnathan and Calypso had manuevered there way through the forest and after a rather harsh lecture from Annabeth, Johnathan silently agreed to bring all the injured campers back.

However, the six of them were deciding whether to go back with or without them. As for Hazel, she was recovering on a floor cot, snoring peacefully.

Frank kept glancing at his girlfriend, afraid that she might disappear. He had pulled himself out of the lake by transforming into a catfish and for a good ten minutes sat on dry land before he realized that Hazel was missing.

While the six of them gathered, Johnathan and the other forty campers were seated in the school bus, waiting for their orders.

"You know," Leo said, as they gathered around the fire. "It's kind of our fault when you think about it."

Frank scowled. "How exactly?"

"Because a group of demigods traveling with each other should be smelt from any monster within the area," Annabeth explained, her voice hardening. Frank's shoulders hunched in embarassment. "Gods, why didn't anyone think of that?"

Piper coughed. "Yeah, and we have one of each children from the big three."

"That's right," Percy agreed. "Apparently, we stink."

Next to Frank, Jason frowned. The son of Jupiter had his forehead wrapped in white cloth and there was a Dora the Explorer bandage on his cheek.

Annabeth took a deep sigh. "Do we really need to see Cosmos statue?"

"Yes," Percy immediately said, his tone urgent.

Frank pursed his lips. Everyone, even himself, had become assimilated with Cosmos. So little was known about her and yet Juno talked about her like she was a beautiful disaster that needed to be bought back.

And the last thing they need was a disaster.

"Something about this just doesn't seem right," Annabeth said.

"But Hera said we need her," Piper said.

"And what _good_ has Hera done?" Annabeth argued, her voice seething.

Piper knew better than to talk back.

"But three different demigods had dreams about her," Percy said, earning himself a scary glare from his girlfriend. "And the three of us are from the seven mentioned in the Great Prophecy. That's got to count for something. And whose to say that you four won't?"

"That's right," Jason agreed. "Heck, one of you might get one tonight."

Annabeth shook her head. "This little field trip to Athens hasn't done us much good. Three people died. And one of them isn't even a demigod."

That left all of them in deep thought.

Frank didn't engage in the debate. Though, he was curious as to how the second demigod died.

"How did, um—Mary-Ann, was it?—die, exactly?" Frank asked quietly.

Annabeth regarded Frank for a second. Her gray eyes looked haunting as the fire illuminated her face. "She took too much nectar." she said.

Frank gulped. Now, he was sure to never eat too much of that god food.

"As much as I'd love to stay in Athens, coming here wasn't a good idea," Annabeth continued. She glanced at Frank. "I'm sure Hazel would agree, too." Then she looked at Percy. "And Tyson wouldn't have been kidnapped _and_ Jason's head wouldn't have been hurt."

"Not like it didn't happen before," Jason muttered.

Piper squeezed his hand. Jason was talking about the time when someone threw a brick at his head. Back in Camp Jupiter, Jason and Piper couldn't control the mob after Leo had inadvertently attacked and it resulted in Jason suffering a concussion.

"So, there should be no reason why we need to see Cosmos statue," Annabeth stated, her tone dismissive.

"Wait," Piper said. "We do need to. Aphrodite said she's still alive."

Everyone's shocked eyes fell on her. Silence embedded the six demigods. Frank could clearly hear the crickets chirping as the fire flicked up and crackled.

Breaking the silence, Piper explained her dream with her mother and how Aphrodite said that they needed to go searching for her.

"That's right," Percy said. "Hera said we needed her help."

"And how else is Cosmos going to help us if she's dead?" Jason said, backing Percy up. Piper nodded enthusiastically.

"And what, pray tell, are the chances of us finding her?" Frank asked harshly. No one answered and everyone exchanged glances.

Annabeth pursed her lips and sighed. "We should vote on it, then."

"Yes," Leo drawled. "And while we're at it, we should fake our ages and vote for Obama, as well."

No one laughed.

Percy cleared his throat. "Those who vote to see Cosmos statue?"

Jason, Piper, and Percy raised their hands.

Annabeth looked grim. "So, that leaves Leo, Frank, and—"

"Wait," Frank said, surprising himself. "What about Hazel?"

Annabeth already had a logical statement to back that up. "Given the situation we're in, do you think that Hazel would want to proceed?"

"Hey, wait a sec," Percy said, looking alarmed. "Where's Ella?"

Leo looked up from the gadget that he was building. His expression was grim. "Umm, Ella is that weird harpy that talks about random stuff, right?"

"Yeah," said Piper.

Leo hummed softly. He put his gadget aside and looked uneasily at everyone. "I think—I'm not sure—" he held up his hands as if to surrender. "that I saw her go after Tyson when he got kidnapped." His voice trailed off at the last part.

Jason sighed and shook his head. "Great."

Leo glanced down. He smacked his lips, making a pop sound. "So, it's three against three."

"Umm," Frank started to say, biting the inside of his cheek. "I'm not entirely sure of where I stand…"

Percy's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "So you want to find Cosmos?"

Frank averted his gaze. "I didn't say that."

"Well, choose, man," Leo said, going back to building his doohickey. "We don't have all night."

Frank would have narrowed his eyes at the son of Hephaestus but something in the fire caught his eye. Frank had made it pretty clear that his fear of fire was serious. Just imagine his face when he witnessed Leo catch on fire the other day. Apparently, Leo had a tendency to get excited.

Instead of inching away from the flames, Frank found himself leaning forward. His gaze was captivated as he saw a face in the flames. He couldn't make it out despite the amount of scrutiny he was doing. Even though he was inches away from the heat, the temperature dropped, and Frank could tell that that wasn't a good sign.

A single voice spoke in his head. It was ancient, and mysterious, and it echoed like it was speaking from another end of a tunnel. The voice only said two words:

**Save her.**

Frank was so startled he fell backwards.

Percy was by his side in a heartbeat. He held out his hand. "You alright?" he asked.

Frank nodded. He grasped his outstretched hand and checked to see if his bow wasn't broken.

Annabeth looked expectantly at Frank, her eyes a steely grey. "Have you made your decision? We don't exactly have a lot of time."

Frank looked back at Hazel. He liked watching her sleep. Though, anyone would have found him creepy—creepier than Octavian—if he admitted that outloud. It's just that Hazel looked so peaceful and beautiful while she slept.

Frank looked back at The Legendary Spartans book that lay strewn on the dirt floor. He knew what he had to do.

"I…" Frank said. He sighed softly and let out the next sentence in one breathe. "I vote to go see Cosmos statue."

* * *

A/N: Stupid hurricane. I had this chapter up and ready but I had no electricity for the past eight days.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Reviews only take a minute and it means so much to the author.


	7. How To Save A Life

_Chapter IX: How To Save A Life_

It seemed cliche but Annabeth decided that skipping rocks was a productive way to waste time.

The pebble she threw sunk, much to her dismay. And so did the next one. And the next one. And the next one.

Everyone else had fallen asleep while she decided to stay up. Her laptop was still wet from the unexpected dip they took and she was hoping that nothing too permanent would hurt her precious laptop. It had all of Daedalus' work and she wouldn't forgive herself if she lost them.

Annabeth fiddled with the obsidian rock before tossing it. It sunk. Maybe she wasn't throwing it right… She picked up the next rock, and turned it over… only to be welcomed by a spider.

She squealed (_like an Aphrodite girl_) and instinctively dropped the rock. Just to be safe, she kicked it away, into the water where it sank with a plunk.

She could fight a hydra, a gryphon, a chimera but a _spider_? She'd rather drink soup from the toilet.

Once her breathing slowed down, Annabeth heard footsteps—hooves, actually—behind her. She didn't bother turning around.

"Yes, Coach?" she asked.

Coach Hedge cleared his throat. He went straight to the point, as always. That's what she liked about the satyr, he was straightforward about everything even if he had an annoying way of showing it.

"It's about Johnathan," Coach said gruffly. Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "I know you've felt strange about the guy," he continued. "He is a demigod but there's just something wrong about him."

Annabeth nodded. "Do you have any idea what he's hiding?"

Coach took off his cap to scratch his head. "He's got that thing Percy has."

You mean to tell me that Johnathan has the ability to annoy people? Annabeth wanted to ask. What gave you that idea? She thought sarcastically.

"He's got an empathy link with someone," Coach stated.

That caught Annabeth by surprise. "That's it?" she asked.

Coach huffed indignantly. "What do you mean _'that's it'_? What if he's a spy?"

"I doubt that whatever satyr that's connected with him has any intention of harming us," she said dismissively.

"I hope your right," Coach said, unconvinced. "Jackson, what're you doing up?"

Annabeth's stomach churned as she turned around to see Percy approaching them. His hands were shoved in his pocket, and his hair brushed off his forehead. Annabeth was still mad at him when she saw Calypso kissing him. Even if it was just on the cheek, and that he didn't kiss her back, it still infuriated her. Even now, thinking of the immortal, her chest heated up in envy.

"I need to talk to Annabeth," Percy said softly then he added, "privately."

Coach huffed. "Don't take too long." When Hedge turned to leave, he pointed two fingers at his eye then at Percy, before leaving. Annabeth hoped that Coach wasn't really watching them, and waited for his steps to recede before she spoke.

"What's up?" asked Annabeth, facing him.

"Your starting to grow paranoid," Percy said. "You know that, right?"

"Am not," she huffed. "Why would you say that?"

Percy shrugged, further angering Annabeth. "Well, you think that we shouldn't see Cosmos statue because we've lost a couple of campers."

"Oh, so you think we should continue and then watch as more of our allies burn to a crisp?" Annabeth snapped.

"It's not that," Percy retorted. "This just feels important. When I had gone missing, you went out of your mind just looking for me."

"That was different," said Annabeth, her cheeks blushing at the memory. "We're looking for someone who probably doesn't want to be found."

"How do you know that?"

"Percy," Annabeth prompted. There was no reasoning with this boy, she thought, running a hand through her hair. "If we keep going further into this, who else will we lose? And what will we gain from looking at some statue? How will that help us with the prophecy? How will finding Cosmos help us win this war?"

Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Some statue? Aren't you supposed to be interested in this kind of stuff?"

Annabeth's nose scrunched up. "Not the point."

"More than one god has taken an interest in Cosmos," Percy argued. "We've had dreams about her, and no one really knows her background."

"This doesn't excuse the fact that we should be risking our necks!"

"Since when haven't we've been doing that?" Percy yelled back. "With great victory comes great—"

"Because of _you_, three people died!" Annabeth yelled, her emotions completely taking over. "It was _your_ choice to come here! And it's _your_ fault that Tyson and Ella are gone! Don't tell me that your willing to sacrifice more so you can get what you want!"

She immediately regretted her words. But the damage was done, and as her anger dissolved, her effusive words even made her flinch. She wanted so bad to kick herself for putting the blame on her boyfriend. Going around and pointing fingers at each other wasn't going to solve anything.

Percy looked down, his eyes lost its usual luster and his shoulders sagged. "It's just," he started. Then he shook his head, and turned on his heel.

Annabeth didn't even try to consult him. Her eyes strained, tears starting to form but she wiped them away and with a heavy heart, followed Percy to get some sleep.

* * *

Annabeth's dream felt like a bomb had been thrown at her.

All around her, war waged in an ancient city which she immediately identified as Athens. She had no time to admire the architecture because 1) the sound of screams and swords clashing was kind of hard to ignore and 2) most of the buildings were destroyed anyway.

The morning sun rised over the horizon but the soldiers payed no mind to it. There were men in white armor with a strange black symbol enscribed on their shields and armor.

Annabeth watched as a man in his mid-thirties kill his enemies with a rapier. He was a blur of white and red, stabbing his adversaries while remaining unharmed. His blade pierced into the body of another soldier before turning around to impale the man who was about to hit him. He parried and striked, moving so fast that Annabeth couldn't process his every blow.

Whenever a soldier fell, black smoke poured from their bodies before they completely evaporated, leaving behind their ashes. No blood was spilled, only a blanket of ash covered the white floor.

Annabeth continued to watch with increasing curiosity. It soon dawned on her that these soldiers—the ones in white—were the Legendary Spartans. Their fighting styles were near perfect to the point where it made them invincible. They were also unnaturally tall, around seven feet; a trait that they received from their Spartan training. She began to analyze them, their fighting technique and etc. She might learn something.

The man she watched was growing tired, probably overwhelmed with the number of opponents. His strikes were slower and he stumbled whenever he rolled to evade someone's attack. He lost his grip on his sword, though this didn't faze him. A knife extracted from his sleeve, and he pushed it into the body of another soldier.

Then something terrible happened. The point of the sword found its way through the Spartan's chest. The man gasped, his hand automatically finding the point as the sword slipped out of his bleeding body.

"NO!"

The soldier who impaled the Spartan whipped around and was met with an arrow to the throat. Annabeth cringed and forced herself to look away. She focused on the archer and was genuinely surprised to see a woman. There was dirt on her face, with a streak of blood running down in the corner of her lip and her hair was in disarray. Her eyes were aquamarine, the color of the sea, except her right eye was blind.

The woman sprinted towards the fallen Spartan, her white toga billowing. Dark soldiers charged at her but she released an arrow and reloaded faster than lightning could strike. Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized that this woman had a Spartan symbol embroided on her arrow. That didn't make sense. Only men were allowed to be a Spartan but the history of them was so bleak that Annabeth found herself thinking otherwise.

The woman grabbed the man, his head on her lap as tears began streaming from her eyes. She cradled him, one hand supporting his head, and the other on his wound. Annabeth felt her heart grow heavier. The sunrise seemed darker rather than brightening.

"I can heal you," the woman sobbed. "Just hold on, all right. Your gonna make it."

The man coughed, spitting out blood. "No… No Cosmos," he coughed some more. "No one can keep me from death."

"I'm so sorry, Roberto," Cosmos said meekly.

Roberto's free hand reached up to stroke Cosmos face, his thumb tracing over her lips. Annabeth felt like a voyeur but her chest tightened at the tragic sight that was being presented to her.

"Cosmos…" Roberto said feebly. He sucked in a deep breath, his mouth forming into a weak smile. "Please smile. I—I want to die a happy man."

Another tear fell down Cosmos face. "How can you even say that?"

Roberto laughed but was interrupted as he coughed some more. Annabeth watched, her own eyes brimming with tears as the life in Roberto's eyes faded, a timeless smile plastered on his face.

Cosmos held his face, tears flowing down her cheeks. She sniffled, pressed her hand to Roberto's face and closed his eyes with shaky fingers. "Requiescat in pace," she muttered, pressing her forehead against his.

Then, Cosmos whole body flickered like the way a tv did when it was losing signal. Instead of a dark haired woman kneeling over a dead man, Annabeth saw a girl with bright blonde hair. The girl sobbed as she caressed the boy's black hair, the life in his sea green eyes fading into nothingness…

Annabeth woke up screaming.

* * *

_Requiescat in pace means rest in peace in Latin. _

_Now, do me a favor and please review. And maybe I'll update sooner._


End file.
